4mo old with RSV and ear infection, please help!

[beth144]

I just took my 4mo dd to dr. yesterday because her cough she had for almost a week has gotten worse (she was starting to wheeze also) and he said she more than likely had RSV and that her ear looked worse and i should tx with antibiotics (she was also seen on Monday). They also gave me a nebulizer and abuterol tx for the cough/wheezing. She seems to be doing better today, but is not taking her antibiotic very well. She keeps spitting it back out.

Is there anything else I can use to help her ear infection rather than resorting to systemic antibiotics?

What else might help her cough/wheezing? The abuterol seems to be wiring her up so that she is unable to sleep well at times. I have been using a vaporizor at night which seems to help some.

Also, I am sick as well. Not taking any meds, just dealing with it and taking about 2000mg of vit. C a day. Any other suggestions?

TIA for any help or suggestion!

[tanyalynn]

For you I'd take a lot more than 2,000 mg of vit C unless that's already causing loose stools/diarrhea.  Most people need a lot more than that when they're sick and I found that if I took a ton--consider closer to 20,000 mg, maybe more, the amount needed is pretty individual--it was enough to really reduce the symptoms of my son's colds (when he was exclusively breastfed, when he started solids I had to give vitC to him directly).  You may also want to supplement either zinc or D for yourself--even in fairly high amounts, it's not likely to change the amount in your milk but it wouldn't cause problems for your LO and the better you support yourself, the sooner your body produces antibodies to this.  I can't advise how to modify the meds your LO's on.  I don't have any experience with nebulizers. 

I can say that a fair number of people have good results treating ear infections with structural work--a chiropractor or someone who does cranial-sacral if you can find one, but at-home massage helped with my son's ear infection last year.  Long strokes behind the ear, starting at the top of the ear down, through the dip behind the earlobe, then down to the collarbone.  Also long strokes starting at various points in the middle of the face--forehead, sides of the nose, under the nose and at the chin--each time out to the edge of the face, then turn down and stroke all the way to the collarbone.  And to help the eustachian tubes drain, gentle tugs on the earlobe down and back. 

Onion juice in the ear also is supposed to help, my son just didn't want any liquids at all in his ear so I have no idea if what little I got in did anything. 

For a cough my daughter had this past spring, our DO did, and recommended I do, a rib-lifting exercise (not sure if that's a great description).  I was to hold her torso near the bottom of her ribs and lift her up--not squeezing or anything, just gently pick her up and set her down, then move my hands up a rib or so and repeat, and do that up to about her armpits.  She coughed more afterward for the remainder of the day but it seemed like it was finally productive, her lungs were getting cleared out better, and it seemed helpful for her getting well.  My daughter's older, she's 6, but it's pretty gentle. 

Hope your LO and you start feeling better soon.

[springmum]

I would say if you've already started the abx, you don't want to stop - even if it's not going in well (use a syringe squirt to the back of the cheek little bits at time) You definitely don't want to create drug resistant bacteria.

We've always done garlic oil in the ear with success - though I've heard onion juice too. You can get the garlic oil at any health food store. Only if the eardrum is intact of course.

Good luck, hope all is well soon